Lightspeed's cloud-based Point of Sale software helps businesses track sales and inventory. It's an omnichannel solution, so customers can place orders online just as easily as they can in person.
Lightspeed is one of the most well-known POS services available today, and for good reason, as it offers a wide range of beneficial features in an easy-to-understand interface layout.
- Established: 2005
- HQ: Montreal, Quebec, CA
- Omnichannel features
- Granular inventory management
- Third-party integrations
- 24/7 support
The Lightspeed POS is popular: It's used by 50,000 businesses worldwide and processes 15 billion dollars' worth of transactions annually. The comprehensive software can be used for retail and restaurant operations, with omnichannel features allowing online sales to be integrated with in-person orders. It offers robust features, multiple channels for 24/7 support, and a user interface that's easy to navigate.
With the current impact of the pandemic seriously harming the bottom line of many a business, anything that can alleviate the challenges presented this year should be welcomed. Lightspeed POS won't fix everything, but it will certainly provide a pain-free POS system allowing you to focus your attention on more important areas of your business.
See how Lightspeed POS prices compare to other leading POS providers with bespoke POS system quotes for your business.
Our review unpacks the main features to expect from the Retail version of Lightspeed POS. We'll then touch on what features set the Lightspeed Restaurant POS system apart, before examining the support options to expect from Lightspeed and how its price plans work.
Lightspeed POS: Core Features
Sales
Lightspeed POS users can create or search for a customer profile, before inputting the items they're buying or simply scanning them with a barcode scanner. Once ready, the employee can ring up the order for credit, debit, check, cash, PayPal or a combination. Then the staffer can either print or email the receipt.
Customers
Customers can be tracked via Lightspeed's suite of CRM tools, allowing stores to give individual customers status like “VIP” or “regular” and to create email lists for targeted marketing campaigns. Their sales history allows managers to make smart decisions about which items are most popular, or which future purchases to suggest to a specific customer. Support for a customer loyalty or gift card program is also available.
Inventory
Items can be quickly imported from a CSV or Excel file, and users can add additional style, size, and color specifications to each item. In addition, pre-loaded catalogs available on the Lightspeed POS allow users to restock their inventory directly from the system. Inventory can also be checked from the mobile app while on the go.
eCommerce Integrations
A single store inventory can be sold both in-person and through an online storefront, for a consistent brand experience. Customer data can be tracked across both channels as well, giving managers an accurate picture of their shopping habits. Websites can be set up easily through Lightspeed, thanks to ready-made templates offered. Integrations make selling directly through Facebook possible as well.
Learn more – 10 Best Retail POS Systems
Reports
Data about customer and employee habits can be tracked and logged. This means over time, trends will appear in the data, allowing managers to make intelligent decisions, with specific insights on factors including which employees clock in and out on time, which customers buy the most, and which items sell best on which day of the week. Accounting data can be automatically processed with integrations available from Lightspeed and all reports can be exported to PDF or Excel.
Restaurant POS
Lightspeed's restaurant POS offers a broad range of restaurant-specific tools, from an inventory that tracks individual ingredients, to a floor plan that lets servers locate the right customer at the right time, to a customizable menu that incorporates photos as well as descriptions. Table-side service is a highlight: With Lightspeed Restaurant, servers can take orders and send them to the kitchen while standing at the customer's table.
Lightspeed Restaurant is a popular POS option for the industry, but you can easily check out its competition by reading through TechCo's roundup of the top ten restaurant POS systems available now.
Video: Lightspeed Retail Overview
Lightspeed's core service is its Retail POS. Here's a video that explains what to expect from it, presented as a visual tour of its features. You'll see how users select locations and registers, how they ring up a basic sale, and how they'll view items in their inventory.
Set Up and Customer Support
Lightspeed offers 24/7 live support via phone, email and live chat — a trifecta of customer service options that's hard to beat, and which only a handful of other POS vendors come close to. Lightspeed also includes live onboarding sessions for new clients to help them get started.
In addition, webinars can walk users through the Lightspeed interface, and a customer forum allows users to ask and answer questions as a community. Their YouTube channels includes video tutorials as well.
Support & Training
Support options
- Phone
- Live chat
Training options
- Community forum
- Webinars
- Online videos
Lightspeed POS Plans and Pricing
Lightspeed offers six pricing plans: Basic, Starter, Standard, Advanced and Pro.
The entry level tier is Basic, and is aimed at small businesses with low demands. It costs $69 per month, and for that, customers get a retail POS and payments system, with a free terminal included. Registers can be added for an extra $29 per month (this is true of all tiers).
Next up is Starter, which comes with all the basic features, but adds eCommerce, useful if you want to take your business online as well as having a physical presence. This is priced at $99 per month.
Then there's Standard, at $119 per month, which comes with all prior features, and also includes the ability to integrate your existing accounting software to the platform.
For $169 per month you'll get the Advanced tier, which adds a customer loyalty feature, such as rewards programs. Useful if you're looking for ways to ensure that your clientele keep coming back.
Then there's Pro, at $229, which again, comes with all previous features, but adds analytics, so you can drill down into your data and see what is working (or not), and the changes you need to make to succeed.
There is also an Enterprise tier, which is aimed at large businesses. This is a bespoke package that will be designed around your business, and one that Lightspeed will price up for you on request.
Don't forget that there is a 14-day free trial that you can check out before committing to Lightspeed long term.
| Basic | Starter | Standard | Advanced | Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per month | $69 | $99 | $119 | $169 | $229 |
| Features | Payments system with free terminal | Basic features plus eCommerce payments | Starter features plus accounting software compatibility | Standard features plus loyalty scheme features | Advanced features plus analytics data |
(Pricing information correct as of 9th September 2020)
| Tech.co Rating Score out of 5 based on Tech.co's independent market research. | Price from The typical lowest starting price. The lowest price available for your business will depend on your needs. | Free trial | iPad app Is there a version of the software made specifically for iPad use? | Android app Is there a version of the software made specifically for Android tablet use? | 24/7 support | Hardware | Tech.co verdict | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  | ||||||
Lightspeed | Shopify POS | Vend POS | Square POS | ||||||
5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | ||||||
$69/month | $29/month | $99/month | Free (but transaction fees apply) | ||||||
Sold by Lightspeed, available separately or packaged with software. Works with most leading brands. | Sold by Shopify, but also works with iPads and Android tablets | Works with loads of third-party periperals | Sold by Square, available separately or packaged with software. Works with most leading brands and has a great free trial. | ||||||
Restaurants that have specialized requirements | A great all-round POS solution that excels for online stores | A super flexible service which will work for almost any business | A brilliant POS system for any type of business |
Lightspeed is a mite more expensive than its competitors, but it's still an excellent choice for small- to medium-sized businesses.
The Verdict
Lightspeed is a recommended POS system. Lightspeed's price is a little above the norm for the POS industry, but its strong features, ease of use, and support team more than make up for it. It's a good choice for a small, mid-size or large business that needs a high-quality POS system.
We've got little doubt that Lightspeed would be a great choice for any business, including yours. However, it's worth checking out other suppliers before taking the plunge — the easiest way to do this is by filling in our easy POS system cost quotes form. You'll receive bespoke, no-obligation quotes from the leading suppliers for your business.
to other leading Point of Sale providers.
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